Mourinho fires Real Madrid shot at Barcelona saying he ‘didn’t need’ Rodri

Jose Mourinho is back for a second spell at Real Madrid who, he says, didn’t need Barcelona’s new signing Rodri.Published On 19 Aug 202619 Aug 2026Jose Mourinho is confident Real Madrid will be fine without Rodri despite admitting the club made “a very good offer” to try to sign the Spain captain.Rodri officially signed with Madrid’s rival Barcelona after a transfer from Manchester City on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Diego Maradona’s doctors missed renal red flag, Argentinian court toldlist 2 of 4Musiala collapses for Bayern again as ‘neurological disorder’ diagnosedlist 3 of 4Senegal appoint Patrick Vieira as head coach with AFCON qualifiers loominglist 4 of 4FIFA COO Lamour exits after criticism of Infantino’s World Cup planend of listMourinho, back with Madrid for a second stint, said he spoke twice with Rodri as Madrid considered adding the World Cup’s best player to its squad, but felt the midfielder didn’t seem certain about his future.“The club contacted him, but he had some doubts,” Mourinho said in an interview with the TV show El Chiringuito late Tuesday.“What I think happened is that his doubts have created doubts for me. He’s an extraordinary p...